


At the deepest core

by VanillaMostly



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Gen, Headcanon, Missing Scene, POV Minor Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 06:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1541309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaMostly/pseuds/VanillaMostly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments before Samwell encountered Alleras at the Citadel.... [some ADWD spoilers]</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the deepest core

**Author's Note:**

> ADWD spoilers: follows the theory that Alleras = Sarella Sand.

She was sad that Pate was dead; she had liked him. He wasn't the brightest mind in the field but he was a kind-hearted boy. Poor Pate. He had been her friend, and he didn't deserve to be sacrificed. _That man should have chosen Lazy Leo instead._ Tyrell was just as idiotic, the only difference being he thought with his cock.

Again, her eyes drifted to the person sitting in the corner, wearing Pate's face. Whoever he was, he was skilled. Even the Mage trusted him, which was impressive by itself. And Sarella knew not to question the Mage. Years ago she had learned not to ask too many questions, no matter how many burned on the tip of her tongue. _Curiosity is a gift, sweetling_ , her father had said, _but only if you know how to control it._ Even at seven years old, Sarella had found that comment to be ironic, considering the extent of _control_ her father possessed. She'd told him so and he had just laughed.

Her father was a hot-tempered man to most, but not to his daughters. Sarella had never been on the receiving end of his anger, nor her sisters, though all of them had been the fair share of trouble as children, she not the least.

_Because hate is born out of love, and one fuels the other until both consume you._ She was grown up now, old enough to understand this, and more. _Curiosity is not all that needs be controlled. Why couldn't you see that, Father?_

She felt the back of her throat tighten and - she couldn't have imagined it - the fake Pate was looking at her. _I must be careful,_ she thought, rubbing her face under the pretense of fatigue. _Listen to yourself... turning into Uncle._ How her sisters and her cousin would mock her, but no matter, caution was wise. _Caution won't get you killed._ The Citadel tended to culture these things into men.. and women. _So the question is, how did Father miss out?_ "The crow has landed, then?" she asked, pulling herself back to the present, to where things really mattered.

The Mage nodded, still staring into the glass candle, knotting his leathery thick fingers together which Sarella recognized to mean he was in deep thought. "Aye. He's nearing the court."

"He won't get by," said the fake Pate in his flat voice. Sarella still couldn't get used to it, coming out of Pate's mouth. But since no one else had suspected anything, she must be thinking too much. _I truly am turning into Uncle._ "I can fetch him," he said, starting to rise.

"No," said Sarella. Too late, she realized how curtly she spoke. The fake Pate looked at her and she made herself return his gaze. _It's just Pate's eyes,_ she tried to tell herself. "I have been here longer. I know the way, and the people."

She felt ridiculous why she should even offer an explanation, or better yet, why she thought to hide the truth. That the Mage might trust him, but she did not. _Am I afraid of him?_ She was forgetting who she was. Sphinxes feared no one, and she was more than a Sphinx besides.

Fake Pate did not reply, but the Mage did. "Sphinx is right," he muttered, eyes still on the glass candle. "Go, before our guest garners more attention."

Sarella obeyed and turned to the door, but not before she made sure the fake Pate was the one who first looked away. _Sand Snakes do not fear. Bear that to heart, Strange One._

_Unbowed, unbent, unbroken,_ she chanted in her head. Years gone and she had been living the life of somebody else. She had to be careful with others but she also had to be careful with herself. Some things in life were even more dangeorus to lose than a secret.

_Soon. Soon you shall see, Father. I have not forgotten Dorne, my sisters, nor who I am. I have not forgotten our revenge. I swear to you._

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't realize until now (and after reading Mercy's chapter on the Winds of Winter sample) that there are so many Arya vibes lol


End file.
